Glimpse the icon a window to heaven. It invites a moment of spiritual connection right here at Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help holds a profound place in the hearts of countless individuals worldwide. Its story is not just about a picture. It is about hope inspiration and unwavering faith.
The roots of devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help trace back centuries. The original icon is a product of Byzantine art. It is at least five hundred years old. It has been revered as an icon of hope. It is an inspiration throughout the world.
Devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help increased dramatically over the past 125 years. In 1866 Pope Pius IX entrusted the miraculous icon to the Redemptorists. He instructed them to Make Her Known Throughout the World.
Redemptorist priests and brothers crisscrossed the globe. They spread the Good News of Salvation. They erected churches and shrines dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. They encouraged people to gather each week to pray the novena prayers. They prayed daily in their homes to Mary. She is Our Mother of Perpetual Help.
Countless miracles healings and conversions are attributed to Mary. People pray to her as Our Mother of Perpetual Help. Millions of copies of the picture can be seen around the world. They are found in churches and homes. Each week hundreds of thousands of people gather to pray the novena prayers. Millions invoke the assistance of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in their homes each day.
The icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help found its home in the Redemptorist Church of St Alphonsus in Rome. Its history traces back to 1495. The image was enshrined in a church on the island of Crete. When Turks threatened the island a merchant carried it off to Rome.
Before his death the merchant begged a friend to take the icon to a church in Rome. He wanted it publicly venerated. The friend’s wife persuaded her husband to keep the painting at home. The Blessed Virgin appeared to the man in a dream. She warned him not to keep the picture. He disobeyed twice. The third time she warned of a miserable death if he continued.
The man tried to persuade his wife to give up the painting. She refused. Our Lady appeared to the man again to tell him of his impending death. He became sick and died.
Our Lady then appeared to the man’s six-year-old daughter. She told her to tell her mother that Holy Mother of Perpetual Help commanded her to take her out of your house. The mother terrified was about to give the picture to a church. A neighbor persuaded her that it was just a dream. That night the neighbor became violently ill. Recognizing her fault she made a solemn promise to Our Lady and was immediately cured.
Again the Blessed Virgin appeared to the young girl. This time she commanded her to tell her mother to place her picture in a certain church. It was to be between St Mary Major’s and St John Lateran’s. That very day March 27 1499 the picture was taken in solemn procession to the church of St Matthew the Apostle. It was placed above the exquisite white-marble altar.
For the next three hundred years this humble church was a popular pilgrimage place in Rome. This was because of the miraculous picture. In 1798 Napoleon’s forces leveled the Church of St Matthew to the ground. The Augustinian monks took the picture with them. For 64 years it was lost to the world.
In 1840 one of the monks Brother Augustine recognized it in the monastery of Santa Maria in Posterula. He told Michael Marchi an altar boy that the Madonna from St Matthews hangs here in the chapel.
Father Marchi entered the Redemptorists in 1855. As a young priest he lived at the generalate of the order. It was built on the same land as the Church of St Matthew. He shared his recollection with his fellow religious.
The Redemptorists learned that a miraculous image of the Blessed Virgin had been venerated in the Church of St Matthew. Father Marchi knew the picture. It is called Our Mother of Perpetual Help he said.
The Redemptorists knew where to find the miraculous picture. Several years later a sermon given by a Jesuit priest led to the icon’s return. On February 7 1863 Fr Francis Blosi spoke of the miraculous painting of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. He appealed to anyone who knew its whereabouts. They should remind its possessor that the Blessed Virgin had commanded it to be honored. It should be between the Basilicas of St Mary Major and St John Lateran.
The Redemptorists obtained an audience with Pope Pius IX. He was convinced that it was God’s Will that the icon be given public veneration. Pope Pius IX told the Redemptorist Superior General Make her known throughout the world.
The icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help stands as a testament to faith perseverance and the enduring power of prayer. Its story is a reminder that hope is always within reach.